FINDING CHURCH Book Discussion Beginning

Finding Church /

For those who would like to join me for a book discussion about my latest book, Finding Church, we are beginning that discussion today. If you haven’t purchased the book yet, you can do so from us or from Amazon, or download the e-book or audio versions. It is also available in German and in Spanish.  Just click on the link above for all the options to secure the book.

I’m excited to work through this book with those who want to and see if we can’t help you recognize how Jesus is building his church around you and how he wants you to participate in her life.  We begin with chapter 1 and take about two weeks to explore each chapter as we work through the entire book.  There will be questions to explore as well as the opportunity to ask me anything you’d like to ask from various chapters.

You can find the forum here.  You may read entries without registering, but to participate in the forum you will need to sing-in.  Grab a cup of coffee, or a cold drink and come join us every week or two and let’s explore the book together.

Please sign in and introduce yourself in the Introductions category and then start on Chapter 1 and share what caused you to begin to hunger for something more? If you have other topic ideas or threads, you can suggest them in the “Question for Wayne” topic.  I’m looking forward to working through this book again and sharing that process with some of you.

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Your Help Is Hurting! (Kenya Update)

5 Comments / In the World /

“Your Help is Hurting!”

Powerful word from one of the most positive videos I’ve ever watched about helping people trapped in poverty.  It’s not our charity they need, but an invitation into the marketplace and the tools to leverage their own creativity and industry that will provide for themselves. This video is only 7:32 minutes long, but it could change your entire view about helping impoverished people around the world.

“People are not the problem; they are the solution.” What a refreshing perspective, and you’ll find on this video a different way of looking at need in the developing world and whether we are actually helping people win their own solutions, or helping with their need only to make us feel better about ourselves. If we understood the power of this message we would be wiser about the money we spend to help.

Many “missions” organizations manipulate our guilt to fund the very kind of projects that perpetuate their poverty rather than provide solutions. Others use people’s desire for cross-cultural experiences to waste exorbitant amounts of money to transport and feed westerners overseas while they do projects, that the people could be empowered to do themselves.  I hope you watch this video and realize that handouts only create dependency, where helping people with tools to apply their own skills and create a market for their own goods will have far greater benefit.

I’ve not seen a video that expresses better my heart in trying to help the people were engaged with in Kenya. We haven’t wanted to just send aid money, but more importantly to help create the kind of development that will allow them to develop the skills and opportunities for their own provision. Often I’ve had groups ask if I needed volunteers to go help build some project because they had a group of people wanting a Kenyan experience. I’ve held off groups like that because the people would rather build these things themselves. They need the work and are content to do it. What they cannot afford are the materials.  By the time people spend the money to transport 20 people to Kenya and provide for them for two weeks, we could fund multiple projects and let the people there have the skills and satisfaction of meeting their own need.

We’ve been involved in Kenya since 2008, first with a group of good friends near Kitale helping build an orphanage and provide for other medical and educational needs.  We also built a petrol station that not only employs locals but more importantly funds the orphanage.  In 2014 they came across 120,000 people north of them in Pokot, who had been devastated by a drought and whose needs were greater than their own.  They wanted to help so we provided an initial $60,000 so they could bring in water, food, and medical care.  We have drilled six wells to get them water and for the past 18 months we have switched to funding development instead of relief. We are now using a 50/50 development model where they provide 50% sweat equity on a given project and we provide 50% of the resources they need for whatever it takes to care for their needs and cultivate a self-sustaining economy. We are looking to put a million dollars there over the next five years to help them jumpstart an economy that will be self-sustaining beyond that. We’ve already received more than half of that and are now eight months into that process.

We are funding four coaches working in that area to help the people create this self-sustaining economy and find simple, readily available solutions to their needs. We also helped fund a grain enterprise with an advance of $14,000. The grain they buy during harvest, bag, and then re-sell later in the year brings in over $80,000 to fund education for our friends near Kitale as well as for the Pokot children.  They keep back enough from the sale to buy grain again the following year. So our original $14,000 investment in these people has already provided more than $160,000 to help with these projects and it will continue year after year.

If you want the backstory on our work in this part of Kenya, you can read this blog that gives a short view of God’s work in linking us up with their need, and people there who are ready to help meet it. If you have extra to pass along for the people of West Pokot you can direct it through Lifestream as contributions are tax-deductible in the US.  As always, every dollar you send goes to the need in Kenya.  We do not (nor do they) take out any administrative or money transfer fees.  If you would like to be part of this to support these brothers and sisters and see the gospel grow in this part of Africa, please see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560 Newbury Rd Ste 1  •  Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

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Paradox Lost: Embracing the Mystery of God

What I'm Reading /

I have waited to post this review for a long time. I’ve been aware of this book a number of years, first hearing about it in conversations with the author who was being deeply touched by the mystery of God.  Then through the writing process as he put those thoughts down and finally through the publication process.  Today it is finally being released by Zondervan and I can finally recommend it to you.

It’s called Paradox Lost: Rediscovering the Mystery of God.  I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about recommending this book to you, not because if it’s author (who’s a great friend of mine), or the great stories therein (which are many), or the writing style (which is fabulous), or because I suggested the title (which I did), but because the content of this book is so important at this time in Christian history.

For hundreds of years, we’ve sought to stuff God in a box. Academic approaches to Scripture have created systematic theologies that substitute ideas about God for actually knowing him, and popular teachers have given us endless formulas to get God to do what we think he should do. We have reduced God to a concept or to a set of principles and by that have diminished him in ways that have disillusioned so many people when he doesn’t do for them what they expect him to do.

Paradox Lost: Rediscovering the Mystery of God, invites to consider that God is so much greater than any box we might use to describe or build to contain him.  Author Richard Hansen gently makes that point showing us that what is unknowable about God is inviting rather than threatening and helps us see that what might appear to be contradictory in Scripture are simply complementary understandings of him that must be held in tension, not resolved. Recognizing that God is greater than any system we can attach to him isn’t a barrier to faith, but the place where faith begins.

Rich Hansen has been my friend for nearly 30 years, since we pastored in the same community together. Over the decades we have met regularly to pray, listen, and encourage each other through the best and worst of times. He also worked for many years as a missionary professor at Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

I can say this about him, he lives what he writes, and a more genuine individual you will not meet.  And that comes through in his book

Here’s the endorsement I gave for its publication:

You’ll love this book as it explores the wonder of a living God who exceeds all your expectations.  PARADOX LOST is a compelling and timely reminder that God transcends all the boxes we build for him.

Order it here from Amazon.com.

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Up Next: Maryland, Virginia and Alberta

Uncategorized /

My next two trips will take me to the east coast of the US in mid-May and then to Alberta, Canada in early June.  Each of these invitations ha piqued my interest and provide times for others to come and join in if you’d like.  For those who would like to join me in Maryland, Virginia, or Alberta, the links below will take you to the dates and contact details. I not only enjoy the opportunity to help people explore their journey in Christ a bit more, but I love to see these people meet others in the area who are also asking some of the same questions they are.

May 13-22:  Check here for Maryland and Virginia dates near Fredrick, Richmond, and Charlottesville.

June 3-13:  Check here for Calgary, Red Deer, Innisfail, and Edmonton.

And looking really far out, I’ll be taking another tour to Israel in early February 2017.  You can get details here if you’d like to join us.

You can also get all the details on our Travel Page.  And if you’d like to be notified by email when I’m planning a trip to your area you can sign up on our email list and include your address.

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Letting Jesus Build His Church

1 Comment / Church Life /

Yesterday, I published a new audio at FindingChurch.com called My Hope for His Church. (If you missed it, you might sing up for updated on that website. We are about to launch a book discussion of Finding Church and will be anchoring it there.)

It includes a twenty-three minute audio clip drawn from my opening comments to a group of people who gathered in London last month.  This is best recorded statement I have about my heart for the church Jesus is building and how I view her taking shape in the world.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of response I’ve already gotten to this brief clip and want to make sure people on this blog don’t miss it.

Some of the thoughts included there:

  • Let’s use the term “church” only the way God is uses it—as an endearing term for the family he is shaping in the world. He calls her a bride for his Son, prepared for his Son and his hope in her is that she will demonstrate the character and wisdom of God not only to the world, but the spiritual principalities and powers that underlie it. A people living in love will topple the powers that hold humanity captive.
  • There are two churches in the world, the one that humanity is building in its own image, and the one Jesus is building in his. Sometimes those realities can overlap, but not always.
  • Our institutions are often more preoccupied with their own needs and managing political power instead of helping people learn to live loved.
  • The church is not something humanity can build; it is the fruit of a new creation where people learn to live in the reality of his love and share it freely with others.
  • When our preoccupation is on the church instead of Jesus, we’ll see less of his church and less of him. The bride’s focus need to be on the groom, because the groom’s focus is on the bride.

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God’s Slow and Glorious Work

4 Comments / Encouragement /

Opening my email every day is like going on a treasure hunt. I have appreciated the stories people have entrusted to me as they hold a longing in their heart for a more vital walk with God than they are yet experiencing. I get to be with them in the darkness and encourage them as best I can to lean more deeply into God’s reality. Learning to do that always takes longer than people hope or want. It is easy to get frustrated as their options narrow and the fears begin to rise that maybe he is not there and is not drawing them toward himself. My heart breaks for them knowing they can’t yet see what is right in front of them, but I know Father is working and one day that work will surface in a way they can see, too.

Yes, it would be easier for us all if he would work faster, if he would function on our time instead of his. But he does not delay to make sport of us, only because he is doing something far deeper and far more profound than we can possibly imagine. He’s not just making the outside better, but liberating us from the inside so that we can live differently and more freely in him. He seems to enjoy that process. I thought about that last night as I waited endlessly for our new puppy to take care of business before we put her down for the night. It’s painstaking raising a puppy. It would be far easier just to get a dog after it’s already grown up a bit, but loving a puppy is so worth it, even for all the accidents and damaged shoes and furniture. Sara and I love the process of helping a puppy grow up into a treasured part of our household.

Would it be so strange that God would enjoy our growth, too? Yes, he knows the pain we’re in, but he’s not about alleviating the pain, he’s about transforming us so the pain no longer destroys us. I got an email the other day that spoke to the glorious way God works, and hopefully sets us at ease to let him do it, rather than living in the frustration of our own timeline:

Thank you for responding to my several emails throughout my journey.  Your “work” (podcasts, books…) has been instrumental in my growth.  When I first contacted you a few years back I was inquiring about how to find a fellowship of like-minded believers so I didn’t have to feel so alone.  You told me to ask God.  I did.  Nothing happened.  This confirmed my inner less-loved outlook (actually “Esau complex”) at the time. So I went into another downward spiral, one of hundreds if not thousands.  The interesting thing is that I have not been able to quit God, though, I’ve tried.

Why would I want to keep coming back to a God whom I feels kicks me down and then kicks me when I’m down? It makes no logical sense whatsoever as I don’t have a victim mentality.  Yet, it has all been part of a process of God answering my prayers. Looking back, you and Brad and your online community have been for a time those “bigger brothers” (and sisters) that I prayed about.  I was not left totally alone.  I have a “sister” in Christ whom I’ve shared my journey with since 2000.  She lives in another state but we communicate frequently and have the kind of conversations you and Brad have.  So, while God didn’t answer my fellowship prayer in the way I wanted, He did answer it.

I know you’re familiar with the book Tattoos of the Heart. In it, “G,” made a comment about “trusting the slow work of God.”  Google informed me that it is a poem, which has brought me great comfort.  I don’t feel like God’s cast-away any more. I don’t feel like Esau (I shared this with you once before), and while I still don’t feel “LOVED” not feeling hated is AMAZING.  I trust that one day I will be able to feel the Father’s love because I am now able to recognize that He is doing this work in me, and He will complete it.  Here is the poem.

Trust in the Slow Work of God
by Pierre Chardin

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest. This poem speaks to the sometimes excruciating experience of waiting on God. 

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way
to something unknown, something new.
Yet it is the law of all progress that is made
by passing through some stages of instability
and that may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow.
Let them shape themselves without undue haste.
Do not try to force them on
as though you could be today what time
— that is to say, grace —
and circumstances
— acting on your own good will —
will make you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new Spirit
gradually forming in you will be.

Give our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
Above all, trust in the slow work of God,
our loving vine-dresser. Amen.

Amen indeed!  No matter what evidence you think you have to the contrary, he is at work in you and he will complete what he has begin and fulfill every longing he has put in your heart. It will go so much better for you if you can relax into his timeframe instead of trying to force your own. Remember, he’s not doing what is fast, but what is right, real, and enduring.

I’ve had many a pained email by those on the verge of giving up, thinking that God isn’t there or if he is, that he doesn’t care about them. Then months, sometimes years, later I get the triumphant email that comes when they finally see what he has been doing all along. It takes an amazing heart to hold a longing before God until his glory makes itself known. But the joy that follows knows no bounds.

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Recommended Summer Reading

1 Comment / Uncategorized /

Earlier in the week I recommended two books about the tragic loss of a child and how God works triumph out of great tragedy. Today I want to recommend four other books for other books that deserve some consideration for your summer reading list:

Judge Z – Irretrievably Brokendrz by Tim Philpot
(Paperback, 260 pages, self-published)

Who would have imagined that one of the best marriage books would be a humorous and poignant novel about a judge in family court wondering what marriage means in the 21st century?  As it turns out there may not be a better backdrop for this tale than the issues and struggles of those dealing with failed families.  Tim Philpot does a masterful job of combining a fascinating story with some deep thinking about what marriage means under today’s law and in God’s eyes.  He dares to ask what”irretrievably broken” means and whether we take divorce taken too casually when people fight over child custody rather than fight to save their marriage?

There is lots of food for thought here, as well as a delightful peek into the twists and turns of family court from the judge’s perspective. Seeing the devastation of broken marriages in his courtroom every day, Judge Z begins to wonder if there isn’t a better way to help families stay intact and get them on a more healthy footing. Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of society to see if a failed marriage can be rebuilt before we terminate it and ask the kids to pay the price? I enjoyed every page of this book, even when it lapsed into preachers and lawyers discussing various facets of marriage.  You can’t come away from this book not valuing marriage more highly and wanting to find ways to love your spouse more deeply.

And Tim should know.  He’s not only a good friend of mine, but a family court judge himself in Lexington, Ky. I’ve sat in his courtroom watching him sort out what is best for broken marriages, at-risk kids and I’ve been with him in local restaurants as he takes extra time to invest in the broken lives of some of the people who frequent his courtroom.

 

poetThe Poet’s Treasure by Stephanie Bennett
(Paperback, 258 pages, Wild Flower Press)

This the final installment in Stephanie Bennett’s Within the Walls Triology. I’ve blogged about the previous two installments as Emilya struggles to find true community in a future technological world.  As a tech genius and the key developer of virtual vacations she is part of a mass government conspiracy to keep people content in a virtual world and rob them of the wonder and risk of community. Having tasted of real community in the second novel, Emilya tries to re-engage the virtual one and finds it incredibly complicated and even dangerous for her and her family. The lessons in this book about technology and the power of the state and how they can undermine the community most people desire are fascinating and thought-provoking.

I’ve been intrigued by this tale from the beginning and watched it unfold through Stephanie’s hand. Stephanie and her husband, Earl are good friends of mine and I not only admire her writing, but appreciate their spiritual journeys as well. They walk with honesty, passion and integrity. If you haven’t read the first two installments, you will want to catch up with the story there before reading this one.  You can read my review of the first book in the series here, and the second one here.  You can also find out more about Stephanie on her publisher’s author’s page.

Here’s what I wrote for the jacket of her book:

The Poet’s Treasure is a compelling read about the inner turmoil we all face between the community our hearts crave and the technology that too often undermines it, especially when it seeks to control us rather than serve us. Stephanie Bennett offers up a satisfying end to her Within the Walls trilogy, an incisive story sorts through the most difficult issues of our age.”

 

ag
The Atonement of God  by JD Myers
(Paperback, 204 pages, Redeeming Press)

What really happened on the cross? Much of Christianity has postured God as an angry, bloodthirsty deity needing to satisfy his justice by crushing the most innocent human who had ever lived.  But what if it wasn’t that? What if Father and Son were working together to destroy sin in the human race, so that we could make peace with God and each other in this broken world?

Understanding the cross as a cure for sin, rather than a punishment of it lies at the core of everything I believe and have experienced about God’s love.  I cover it in He Loves Me and in greater detail in Transitions, free recordings available here.  For those who want to take a deeper and more theological look at a nonviolent view of the atonement, J. D. Myers has written an interesting book to unpack various views of atonement and discuss what a curative view of the cross might look like.

While I wouldn’t support all of the theological interpretations outlined this book, I am in broad agreement with its overarching theme and appreciate the scholarship J.D., has brought to the subject at hand. This is a book worthy of your time, your thought, and your prayers as you seek to understand he atonement in a way that puts God’s love front and center and invites us into a reconciled relationship with him.

Excerpt:

Yes there were disastrous consequences of sin, but those consequences were not a punishment, nor did they come form the supposed anger of God, for God was not angry. This is why nearly every time the angel of the Lord appears to humans in Scripture, the first words out of his mouth are, “Do not be afraid.”  Because of sin, we believe God is angry at us for our sin, but Scripture consistently reveals that God is not angry. The great lie of sin is that God is angry at us because of our sin and that when we sin, we cannot be with God, but must hide from Him.”

Visit Jeremy’s website, RedeemingGod.com

 

p2pPanic to Peace:  Living Free from the Grip of Fear by Dr. Neil McLamb
(Paperback, 158 pages, self-published)

Only those who struggle with fear and anxiety know the anguish.  McLamb draws form his own battle wth fear and anxiety beginning with his first episode in an eighth grade speaking event to the ensuing panic attacks, which began taking over his life.  Only when he began to view himself through the eyes of his Heavenly Father, did he find a path to recovery.

By telling his story, he hopes to encourage others to find their freedom from the grip of fear and anxiety. Instead of blaming God or feeling guilt he helps people find freedom by knowing how deeply loved they are by God and finding their joy in his unfolding purpose in their lives even in the midst of whatever challenges they face.

I love books that ring with authenticity. This one does.  Here’s my recommendation from the back cover of his book:

Even in the face of your darkest fears, love is greater still. That’s Neil McLamb’s story as he shares in brutally honest terms his long slide into paralyzing fear and how he is finding his way out in the affectionate embrace of a Father who loves us all. Panic to Peace will be of great encouragement and help to those who also battle the lies that drive fear and grasp for the truths that can lead them to freedom.

Visit Neil’s website here.

 You can find out more about these books by clicking on the book title links.

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The God Journey Goes to Israel

1 Comment / Behind the Scenes, Travelogue /

Two years ago I took my wife, son and 40 other people who have enjoyed my writings for an 11-day trip to the land of Israel. We had the time of our lives! Not only did we get to be where so much of redemptive history unfolded, but we also got to share it with people on a similar journey of learning to live in the Father’s affection and exploring more relational ways of finding church.

I am returning again in February 2017 to take my daughter and my niece on the same trip and you would be welcome to join us. Brad Cummings, my podcast partner at The God Journey, will also be joining us and adding his insights and passion to our tour. We are also adding an extended three days before the Israel tour for those would like to go to Jordan to visit Mt. Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land, the ancient rock-carved city of Petra, and some added sites in Israel as we come back up to join the rest of those touring with us.

The cost of the Israel Tour will be less than $4000 per person, with double-occupancy and including airfare if you’re coming from the US.  Those of you traveling from elsewhere can just pay for the land tour and make your own flight arrangements to Israel.  If you’d like to join us for the three extra days in Jordan it will cost about $1300 extra. You can get all the details and register here.

This land and its people are pivotal in the biblical story and it is here that history will reach its conclusion. No, God is not more present here than he is anywhere else on the planet, but if you’ve never been you have no idea how it will impact you to be in the very places you’ve read about so often and how it will change your reading of Scripture for the rest of your life.

Jerusalem
Can you imagine what it is like…

  • to stand on the shore of Galilee with the water lapping at your feet
  • to climb Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal
  • to look down from the Mt. of Olives at the very place where God’s temple stood
  • to be surrounded by 2000 year old trees in Gethsemane
  • to approach Temple Mount on stone pathways that date to the time of Jesus
  • to be in the very cell that held Jesus the night before He was crucified

jeruslamewwallMy first trip to Israel in 1997 proved to have far more impact on me than I ever thought it could and the one we took two years ago brought some amazing people together and began friendships from around the world that continue to flourish. My time in Israel gave me a different dimension of understanding for God’s work of redemption. I was drawn closer to His heart. I had touched the earth where He had walked. I had been given a first-hand look at the sky, hills, valleys, and waters where He lived out His physical life. I had experienced His earthly home!

israel3We’re making room for forty-five people to come with Brad and me.  As we journey, we’ll walk through the Scripture story. I’ll be sharing some thoughts at key sites designed to stimulate personal reflection. And as we go along, we will enjoy a joint conversation about how God is revealing Himself in us.

The Israel Tour Company, known for intimate tours that allow people to absorb the culture and history of the land, is taking care of all the details.  They have hosted both my previous trips there and I’m thrilled to be working with them again.

We have chosen to travel in February since the weather is comfortable in the desert locations. There aren’t as many tourists in the country at this time. And we can take a smaller, more intimate group more affordably. The length of the trip is designed to move us through the highlights of the country, still allowing time for reflection and a free day in Jerusalem. And for those who can come a bit early we are offering an extended three days to visit Mt. Nebo, where Moses died in Jordan, the ancient rock-carved city of Petra, and some added sites in Israel as we come back up to join the rest of those touring with us.

I hope you can join me for an amazing tour of Israel – one that will add so much to your understanding of who God is and how he wants to walk with us.

For more information and registration click here.

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Finding God’s Grace when Tragedy Strikes

1 Comment / Culture Watch, What I'm Reading /

It is so easy to find God in the midst of life’s joys. Finding him in the midst of our pain is another and perhaps no pain is deeper than the loss of a child. Two new books speak directly into this arena by people who know it all too well. These stories just don’t wallow in the tragedy but unpack for the reader how to triumph in the midst of loss, pain and disappointment. You will be touched by both of these and learn how to handle your own tragic circumstances inside the affection of a gracious Father.

hillsTo Be Continued by Allen and Tammy Hill
(Paperback, 295 pages, self-published)

Allen and Tammy’s only child was murdered in the Virginia Teach shootings nine years ago this month. This is the story of Rachel’s life, that horrific day, and living in its aftermath of her loss, learning to lean into God’s love and even forgive the perpetrator of her death. Both The Shack and He Loves Me play into this story in a critical way, through which I came to know the Hill’s and have been friends with them over the past eight years.  I can vouch for the fact that they genuinely live in the freedom and grace they write about in their story.

The subtitle of the book is, “The life of Rachel Hill, and God’s grace to our family in the Virginia Tech tragedy.” And what a story it is! Rachel was a freshman at Tech, a talented and passionate young woman who was life was cut short. She was also a passionate follower of Jesus and you’ll see how her journal encouraged their own journeys in dealing with the pain. In so many ways, and through so many people, God wrapped his arms around the Hills and have not only worked great healing in their hearts, but made them lights to others as well. This is a raw story of, honestly and lovingly told. You will be inspired by their words and touched by the magnificence of God’s grace at the depth of human pain.

They came to discover that their hopes and dreams did not die that day, but that life was “to be continued”. In time God helped them discover how to enjoy life again and not be ruled by tragedy and grief.

Click here for a compelling interview with excellent Allen that aired on ESPN 950 in Richmond, VA, which aired last week on the 9th anniversary of the tragedy.

You can order this book from Amazon, or get one free by sending your address to them by email.  Or if you’d like to order one by mail, or even help them with a gift so they can keep making these books available, you can write them at:

Allen and Tammy Hill
P.O. Box 1685
Glen Allen, VA 23060

 

 

wtsWhen Tragedy Strikes by Laura Diehl
(Paperback, 295 pages, Morgan James Publishing)

This book is not just a story of a parent’s loss; it also offers hope and instruction as to how we can find God in the midst of our most tragic circumstances and let him teach us how to live beyond them.  The book’s subtitle is, “Rebuilding your life with hope and healing after the death of your child.”

Laura and Dave lost their daughter, Becca, six months short of her 30th birthday to a heart condition. She was married with a nine-year-old daughter when complications set in and despite their prayers, Becca died. Shocked and broken, with pain that made her feel as if she couldn’t breath at times, Laura found that God was big enough for this, too.  This is the raw account of her journey from deep darkness back into light and life. Now she wants to extend a helping hand to others who find themselves in the midst of unanticipated tragedies as well.

Laura has lived all of this and doesn’t offer cheap cliche’s or pat answers, but honest and real encouragement and instruction as to how invite God into our deepest pain and find healing an life beyond it. If you’ve been through this kind of pain, or want to learn how to better help others going through it, this book will help you.

Here’s what I wrote for the jacket of her book:

If you have suffered great tragedy and struggle to connect with God in your grief and disappointment, When Tragedy Strikes was written for you. Laura Diehl knows the unfathomable pain of losing a child in tragic circumstances, and through the grief and pain finding her footing in the love of an affectionate Father. As she describes her own journey with honesty, compassion, and wisdom she will help you process your own journey and find a glorious hope beyond your darkest days.

 

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The Sheba Years

3 Comments / Behind the Scenes /

It seems our lives are measured in dog years.  Yesterday morning, on what would have been her thirteenth birthday, we put the remains of our beloved dog to rest in a corner of Sara’s garden.  And we cried, both at our loss of Sheba’s presence and in celebration of the love we shared together for so long.

We’re grateful for all thirteen of those years.  She wasn’t supposed to have so many. At six months of age our vet told us she wouldn’t live past five since she had such severe hip dysplasia. We were shocked at the news. Dogs don’t live long enough as it is, but only five years! As the news settled in Sara took a firm resolve.  “If she only has five years I am going to make sure they are the best five years any dog could ever have.” And she did, so much so that Sheba just kept on enjoying the life Sara made for her for eight extra years.

As we buried her ashes, we gave thanks to God for the gift Sheba was to our family.  She was a friend  to everyone and embraced life with a passion.  At the same time this black lab/German shepherd mix was a gentle soul. She thought fetching balls was a waste of time, but couldn’t resist a stick thrown into the ocean or a mountain lake. Swimming must have felt so good on her damaged hips. Perhaps her favorite thing was going for a ride in the car. You just mentioned a ride and she would go crazy, rushing for the door roiling with impatience.  Even if Sara didn’t have anywhere to go she would take Sheba for a ride anyway almost every day. She was Sara’s constant ompanion when working in the garden until her back legs wouldn’t follow her to get down there anymore, then she would sit on the grass watching Sara’s every move.

When she came into our lives I was still writing So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, Sara had just earned her Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling and was employed by a local high school.  The God Journey wasn’t even a thought yet, nor was The Shack. We had no grandchildren. Sheba saw us through the joy of those years, as well as their challenges. And she fell in love with each grandchild we had and treated them oh so gently loving each grandchild in turn and winning them into her friendship.

On Easter a week before she died, all the kids were packed up ready to leave and were heading for the front door. All of a sudden we heard one loud bark from Sheba laying a rug unable to get up on her own.  That bark said everything:  “Don’t you dare leave this house without saying good-bye to me.” We all laughed at her indignation and rushed back to include her in the good-byes.

Yesterday morning we also reflected on what Sheba demonstrated to us about God’s love and care.  She was always there providing comfort and joy in the best and worst of times. Dogs are faithful no matter what. And you have no idea what adoration really is if you didn’t see Sheba watch Sara walk through a room. Her eyes were fixed on her with a look of wonder in her eye. She thought Sara was the most incredible human being to walk this planet.

We are embracing the grief now that our home is a bit emptier without her. We talk of her in the special places in our home where she used to keep watch. We speak of her often and how much we miss her. We made a video of her life to the tune of You Have a Friend in Me. We reminisce. We cry. We pray. Grief is a glorious process of crying out the pain to reclaim each memory, eventually taking out the sting of her loss and reveling in the joy of her time with us. It takes time, but it will work.

Yes, she is just a dog, but she’s was a beloved member of this family. She was a big part of the past 13 years and will always be a treasured part of our lives.  We miss her and all she represents to us.

But time marches on.

A new pup has already taken up residence in our home.

The Zoey years have just begun.

zoeypup

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